Of a fluffy cotton candy on a snowy day
by Yueres De Leo
Summary: It would have nice to say it was destiny, but that would be lying- Really, it only was the product of certain aspects piled up together to create some sort of propinquity between the two of them. [Mursakaibara/OC]
1. Robbed

Oh dear, I'm finally back.

I am very sorry for not having uploaded in a very long time, as might know Venezuela Is going to hell and it has not been easy to find the will to do anything. I had been thinking about this fic for a long time, thought of many things I could change, things I wanted to change. **So I'm slowly rewriting the whole thing, though using a lot from the original fic.**

Thank you very much for reading. Enjoy! Please leave a review to let me know what you think of the changes and what you would like to see!

 **A/N:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.

 **A/N:** English is not my first language, so please excuse the horrifying mistakes you might find here.

* * *

There were several reasons behind why it wasn't a good idea for her to join the Home Economy club.

Helping out that day had been nice, oh so very nice. It had been a good experience, and it had been fun- The kitchen like area at Yosen that students could have access to wasn't as big as the other class rooms, but it was bright and it had lots of windows facing the hallway, and it reminded her of her work station back at the shop. The members were welcoming even though it hadn't been long since most of them joined, and the President had been her acquaintance back in Middle School, so at least there was one familiar face to share tips with.

But the reasons were still there, and because they were really good and perfectly backed up by previous experiences, she knew joining wasn't a good idea. Burning down the school or accidentally frying some innocent bystander's hand within the first month of class wasn't something she wanted to be guilty of, and she wasn't desperate enough to ignore the fact that no, they wouldn't be baking every single day, and so, the chances of becoming a breathing, walking threat to general safety were equal to the amount of days the H.E club would be actually _cooking_.

Those were a lot of days.

So she wasn't going to join.

Which was slightly depressing to say the least.

Or at least that was what she thought as the key resting on top of the counter practically stared at her, also before, during and after she picked it up and held it on her hand. Why had she offered herself to lock the classroom again? Ah, right, she didn't have clue. She also didn't know why Hiraki, the club President, had voluntarily given it to her. It probably had something to do with how exhausted she had looked after narrowly saving five person's cream from being too removed, or those ten tarts from being burned inside the oven, or that girl who had sworn she cut her hand when actually the red thing on her palm had in a better life been a mashed cherry. All in all, it had been worth it- Looking at the small pastries left as her part, arranged inside a plastic container besides her bag, at least that was what it felt like.

"Alright, windows…"

The sky was barely starting to turn orange when she checked the windows were all closed and locked, which was a sign that she had, in fact, more time to lock the classroom and return the key to the teacher's room than what she had originally thought. Some sports clubs weren't done yet though, and the last thing she saw through the window before turning around to pick her things, was the football team playing ruthlessly on the wide backyard. _That's what you get from a school that takes pride on sports_ , she guessed.

It was a normal day in Yosen.

That was how she figured things were supposed to be in High School.

But when she turned, the universe decided to defy what little sense of normality she had been able to acquire over the short time she had been High School student.

It wasn't the slightly open window what caught her attention, even when she had been almost a hundred percent sure it had been closed just a moment ago.

Instead, she focused on the fact that there was an arm – _A very, very large arm_ \- dressed in white a purple fabric sneaking and almost squeezing itself through the open space, while a hand – _A very large, very wide hand_ \- slowly patted it's way to what she could only guess were the pastries still resting inside the container. When the fingers accidentally brushed against her bag and the movement halted before patting it's way to the right, the girl took a moment to actually raise her eyes to where the arm came from, but the when the only thing she encountered was the top of a purple head, to say she was confused would be an understanding.

It stayed like that for the few moments it took the hand to finally find the pastries and easily snatch three at the same time, and even when the limb slowly retreated and another appeared to silently close the window, her mind was still too occupied processing what was going on. When she finally but slowly snapped out of her perplexed state, something probably should have been said, anything given that someone was virtually stealing her property. But whatever could have possible come out of her mouth was stuck in her throat when the head slowly moved to the right until the person actually thought he was out of danger and slowly stood up. _Now_ , as her eyes went up and up and up _and up_ , **_trying_** to follow the person's head _,_ the feeling slowly turned into a heavy something on the bottom of her stomach.

In all honesty, she should have known it.

The arm and the fingers had been too long, and the fact that she was short didn't mean the wall under the window wasn't, in fact, tall enough to reach an average sized teenager's hip. What kind of person, then, could be slightly seen even when crouched behind such a tall wall?

 _The answer was, someone over 6 feet tall._

From where she stood, taking in the lazy purple eyes and the cheeks already filled with the pastries he was munching, face framed by an almost shoulder long purple hair, she thought he probably was taller than _that_. Which should have very well been impossible in Japan since Matsuzaka, or at the very least, in a _High School._ She blinked, maroonish eyes following his enormous frame until he was nowhere to be seen, and even then, it took her a couple of seconds to stop blinking before tilting her face to one side, eyes still wide open, fixed on the hallway as if it were to give her some sort of explanation for the very random…. _something_ she had just witnessed.

It was perhaps an automatic movement when her hand took out the phone after it ringed twice, blindly tapping the right side of the screen before putting it against her ear, finding it in herself to at least hope she had hit the right option and she hadn't, in fact, hanged up on someone.

" _I'm done with training, I'm dead tired and I'm being teased by a brainless moron because of it. Let's get out of here before I kill Haruka. Where are you? Still Home Economy?_ "

There was someone snickering on the back ground after the 'killing' part, an almost dangerous growl that most certainly was meant to scare someone out of their minds, and a few other sounds that couldn't be recognized. But as the girl now stared at her empty plastic container she had slowly approached, then at the window, then at the empty space once more, the only thing that actually came out of her was a hum.

"Um"

" _Aoi? Did something happen?_ " Ryo's voice even sounded curious at the ever so smart answer that she got, the snickering that had at some point turned into laugher stopping on the background " _Something did, right? Did you cut yourself, burned something? What was it this time?_ "

Intelligently, Aoi blinked once more at the empty space.

"I have no idea"

The girl silently wondered if she had just been robbed.

And she also silently decided Ryo definitely didn't need to know that if it had been the case.

* * *

 ** _It wasn't_** **meant** ** _to be._**

 ** _Even when there was far too much evidence piled up that suggested otherwise._**

 ** _There had just been a certain amount of things laid out for it to happen effortlessly. A lot of coincidences, a lot of contradictions, and a lot of physical assets that, placed side by side, no one could help but stare at._**


	2. The Art of Not Knowing What is Going On

**IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT.**

THIS FIC IS BEING **REWRITTEN**. IF YOU HAD READ THIS BEFORE, PLEASE READ **CHAPTER ONE AGAIN**. IT HAS CHANGED.

Enjoy!

 **A/N:** English it's not my first language, reason why there could be grammatical mistakes.

 **A/N:** I do not own KnB

* * *

 _"_ _E-Excuse me"_

 _The tall boy looked sideways at whoever had talked to him, disinterest written all over his face._

 _There was a group of girls standing behind a blond one, giggling with obvious red cheeks, glancing at him every few seconds. Atsushi supposed the blond girl had been the one that had talked to him, because she was closer to where he was standing, glancing up at his face with an equally boring looking blush and an equally plain giggle escaping her lips. It was the same girl who had first walked out of the room just when he got there, or maybe it was the red haired one? Certainly, he could not remember. And because so much giggling all together annoyed him, such a high pinched voice annoyed him, and such a strong scented perfume annoyed him to absolutely no end, he tuned it out while sticking his hands inside his pocket, looking towards the door, brushing the box of Pocky with the tip of his fingers._

 _The blond didn't seem to take the hint._

 _"_ _Are you looking for someone? Maybe I can help you!"_

 _He glanced inside the room through the window, but there was no one else besides the president of the club, some girl with short hair. It was not long, it was not dark colored. Everything was clean and there was cake on top of the counter, vanilla for what he could see, but it was_ _ **just**_ _that. He brought out the Pocky he had been basically hiding in his pocket, something he had planned to eat_ _ **after**_ _, munching on the strawberry flavored snack as he turned around and started to walk away from the annoying voices and plain cake._

* * *

It would have been a lie to say Aoi didn't spend most part of her week in peace, because she did.

She realized how much difficult High School was, and how tough that school turned out to be, and how much time she needed to spend on studying to survive her teenager years, but she also had Ryo and Haruka to keep her company in the slightly awkward journey of trying to blend into High School life while not trying to look like lost puppies while talking through the all too big hallways and buildings, and there actually were some pretty funny individuals in both her class and the committees she was interested in joining. It was nice, all in all.

But there was a tiny little detail that she wasn't able to miss the moment she stepped on the classroom that Tuesday morning.

And that was the purple haired being that somehow, for some reason, was sitting inside of her classroom. She had almost silently asked Ryo if he had always been there, only to receive an incredulous look and a _'How did you not notice that before?'_ as an answer.

At first, she didn't think he even recognized her.

By Wednesday, Aoi wasn't so sure.

It wasn't as if the titan, that turned out to be called Murasakibara Atsushi, had talked to her or anything of the sorts. He sat at the far left corner of the classroom, and was way too busy eating junk food to seemingly pay attention to something else- _'Of course he is a basketball player, idiot. He was recruited in Middle School_ ' she had heard before from people sneaking glances at the guy, and the revelation was surprising to say the least. Not unbelievable, but at least really surprising. He munched and munched and munched on food, and not only was it hard to believe he would listen to whatever you were saying even if you were talking right in front of him, but also to think he had the will to move that enormous body of his around a court.

But then, when she sat after reading what the teacher had asked her to answer out loud, sighing in discomfort at the attention, searching for Ryo with her eyes, the brown haired girl realized Murasakibara Atsushi was staring right at her.

Given that he looked away faster than she thought possible from him, Aoi would have said she was thinking too much of it. But then it happened again, and again, until she was sure there was a hole burned on the back of her head, and she was left with no choice but to recognize that yes, he knew she had been the one she stole the pastries from, and that a generous part of her brain was firmly against letting him know that she _knew that he knew_.

And so, with the occasional stare, it kept on being peaceful. For the next 24 hours, that is.

Depending on who you asked, there were several different reasons behind the shift in the course of things. But if you asked Mikitana Aoi, the fact that anything changed at all, most probably was her fault.

Though it had not been her intention. Really, it hadn't been. She was curious and she really didn't think her life was in danger by at least knowing someone that was taller than her by a ridiculous amount of inches, but that didn't mean pointing her finger at someone whose hand was bigger than her head was on top of her 'to do' list. Truth to be told, Aoi wasn't scared, but now, _intimidated…_ that was a whole different story. So that Thursday when the bell ringed, by the time she reached the door with her lunch in hand while Ryo was putting away her books, she had realized her mistake far too late.

Because when she reached the front of the class, so did the ones that sat further behind her, at the back of the class- That's what happens when you have short legs, people always walk faster. And so, for what had to be the first time, she had unknowingly walked right into the purple haired guy that was already standing by the teacher's desk, facing the board, apparently searching for something on a plastic bag that was hanging from his arm. Which would have been fine, because she had immediately looked down at the plastic container in her hands instead of risking meeting his eyes for any reason at all, suddenly finding the smooth surface very interesting, intentionally walking a little bit faster so to reach the door before he turned around.

It wasn't that much of a distance, she could do it in a couple of seconds.

But then her feet almost stopped moving.

And for some reason her mind decided to take a time out.

Her fingers brushed against that same smooth surface, a heavy feeling starting to grow inside of her stomach. Aoi first blinked around three times in a row, then her eyes travelled all over the container, taking in even the smallest details, thinking that _this time around_ she hadn't forgotten about the lid.

 _It was the same container as that day._

It had been a very small, very stupid thing, _a detail that surely no one should have noticed at all_. As the girl breathed in quietly, that's what she wanted to think. But then she had the brilliant idea of looking up slightly, only to find that the purple haired guy – _Murasakibara. Murasakibara Atsushi_ \- had turned around already, Pocky sticking out of his mouth. And that he was staring at the same thing as her, eyes heavy with, to her utter bewilderment, _recognition_.

And then, because life really wanted that day to be memorable for the years and years to come, he had raised his eyes as well, and the moment they crossed gazes and he realized she was by then staring at him and out of his face his eyes widening was the only thing that changed, Aoi just knew that he knew. That was the moment Aoi knew that he knew _that she knew_.

It was the first time in a couple of years she had felt so childish. But that was after running out of the door and into safety. Certainly, not before.

* * *

It also was on Thursday morning when things went from cero to a hundred in a very short amount of time.

"This is isn't fair- Is not fair at all. How do you even _do_ it? This is the fourth year in a row! That is the best seat!"

By the time Aoi pulled out the number of her seat from the box, Ryo had already been groaning in defeat.

The black haired girl was able to somehow both pout and frown at the same time when they both took a look of the number and checked its position on the diagram drawn on the board. Aoi laughed under her breathe, bag in hand as she walked towards the back of the class, the right corner closest to the window. The girl was almost tempted to wave at Ryo once she was there, setting her things down on top of what would be her new desk for the rest of the year. There were good traits and bad traits to absolutely everything; the bad thing about sitting at the back (while being short) was the fact that she had to move her desk a little to the side so her sight wouldn't be blocked by those who were in front of her; the good thing though, was the fact that now she had the best view of the trees the apparently ancient Gardening Club were so proud of.

"I guess today it's a good day for me, Ryo" Aoi just chuckled lowly when the black haired girl looked at the box filled with sit numbers with determination, rolling up the sleeves of her uniform. She knew Ryo had never liked sitting in the middle of the class, or close to the door, so there were few acceptable options and many sad possibilities inside that box. A guy with no blazer on and brown hair casually took a slice of paper out before Ryo could, looking at the seat besides Aoi with a grin on his face. Aka…..Akatsuno? _No, Akatsuki_. Akatsuki something.

"Sadly for you, it's a good day for me too" He teased Ryo, walking towards his new seat. The black haired girl screamed in a very colorful way and then tried to throw the nearest thing at him. Fortunately it was a chair, and it was a good thing because _then_ she was stopped by the ones around her _before_ she could lift it off the ground, something that looked scarily possible for a girl like her. They might not know Ryo beforehand like Aoi did, they might not have witnessed all the things she had seen, but at least they sensed what she was capable of doing.

"Screw you, asshole!"

"Please take care of me" Was his friendly greeting when he got to her side, a wide grin on his face and a hand held up in the air, waving, absolutely and completely ignoring the annoyed black haired girl that was glaring at him. Aoi wasn't so fast smiling back, taking a moment to think he looked like a Cheshire cat and another to think that maybe comparing people to animals wasn't the polite thing to do- Finally, a small bow was sent in his direction, because as friendly as he looked, she didn't want to lose time fooling herself into believing she could pull of the same natural looking gesture.

"Likewise"

While Ryo starting jumping up a down, a very good seat number written on the paper in her hand, Aoi was already sitting and trying to recall her schedule while pulling out her things. Why were there so many things in a single day? She could remember her cousins studying _weeks_ before their tests were even announced, and she also remember their horrified face when she announced she wasn't going to their school, but had chosen Yosen instead. _'You are going to die prematurely, Aoi_ ' they said, and just by looking at her mathematics text book mocking her from the inside of her bag, the girl knew they weren't wrong about it.

"Switch with me"

Call it instinct – _Survival instinct, maybe, at least given her luck. That one that almost never worked_ \- but Aoi's hand stopped moving before it touched her pencil case, close to frozen in place at the sound appearance of that voice. She blinked at her bag, the quiet smile frozen in her face as well, trying to figure out why she had a very bag feeling about this.

"B-Bu-"

"Switch"

"I-"

"I'll crush you"

 _What._

Blinking again, Aoi slowly turned her heads to the right, the almost completely unfamiliar voice ringing in her ears like a fire alarm. She was surprised to see that the friendly Akatsuka Ryuji was no longer sitting beside her, but instead, he was now sitting a few rows to her right, a somehow scared look on his face- Even when shaking he still resembled a cat, now looking like he had just seen a really big and scary dog. Which wasn't surprising, given that standing in his place, staring at her with a potato chip almost hanging from his lips, was no other than a lazy and bored looking Murasakibara Atsushi.

This time around, he didn't give her a single second to prepare, he was already staring down at her in the most indiscrete way she had seen herself facing, and to her credit it only took Aoi about three seconds to realize she was holding her breathe in an almost painful way. There was a small voice on the back of her mind whispering escape plans into her ear, but since the first one already consisted on jumping off the window, resignation was the only thing left to harvest.

"You knew I was in your class"

It clearly wasn't a question.

It was a statement.

And even when she was hearing him talk for what had to be the first time, he still couldn't make out what kind of logic he was following, or _if_ he was following any logic at all. That seemed more likely, taking into consideration how his face was completely straight and he reached for another potato chip to munch on. His heavy eyes and the fact that he was still staring reminded Aoi that she was, in fact, meant to say something back. _Anything, as long as it doesn't give him a reason to break her in two._

"…Be….Before? N-No, I didn't-"

"You are not in the HE club"

It was an abrupt interruption, and she was left to almost gap at her still straight face with a look that probably resembled that of a deer facing the lights of an incoming far.

"I'm not"

She didn't stutter this time. But it was only because her tone had grown gradually low by each letter until it was just a little bit better than a whisper. Aoi didn't have an idea of where this was going or what this was about, but she didn't particularly like the way it was going. Or more like she really, _really_ didn't like the frown that not so slowly settled itself on Murasakibara's face. Her fingers curled tightly around the bag still resting on her lap.

"So you don't normally bake inside school"

 _Oh god._

"I…don't"

A sharp intake of breath was the only thing heard from her when a very large hand gripped her head like it was nothing more than a ball or an apple, tilting it upwards ever so slightly. It didn't _hurt_ , but there was enough pressure on her skull to make moving particularly difficult, and adding the loud beating of her heart and the dreadful feeling on the pit of her stomach, it made _thinking straight_ a little impossible. And surely, the slight glare Murasakibara was giving her had something to do with it, because no one in their right mind and in her situation would think he looked like a _kid_ throwing a _tantrum_. So something must be wrong with her head as of now.

 _Somehow she sensed her last answer seemed to actually make him upset._

"That makes me want to crush you"

 _Now, how can I call this kind of situation?_

'Staggering' was a nice description.

"That's an interesting choice of words" She mumbled under her breathe, trying not to bring much more attention by breathing slowly through her nose, and Aoi really didn't know if that statement was meant for him or for herself. It was so easy, so but so easy for him- He towered over her small frame as if she were no more than little kid, keeping her in place with a single hand, which in all honesty, wasn't fair at all. Aoi almost squeaked in surprise when the grip lessened, basically the same moment Murasakibara blinked, frown dissolving almost immediately, and tilted his head to one side.

….. _What?_

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I couldn't hear you. What did you say?"

It was Aoi's turn to blink at him.

She had heard something similar before. Really mean guys that thought bullying people was good. Aoi had heard those words being said in a very sarcastic tone, one that would surely make more than one cry, because it really, really sounded awful.

But as tall and big and intimidating and incomprehensible as Murasakibara Atsushi was, he didn't sound like it. Actually, now that he wasn't frowning or glaring at her, he didn't even look threatening, and if he weren't gripping her head like a tomato, he could very well be having an almost normal conversation with her- He looked and acted genuinely curious for whatever he had not heard, lazy eyes back at scanning her face, and the second Aoi thought the situation might not be as bad as she had originally thought, it was the moment the girl knew she was going crazy at almost sixteen years of age.

"Just what _the_ _hell_ do you think you are doing to Aoi?"

 _Suddenly the window idea doesn't sound so bad._

"Ryo" It almost came out as a pained groan. Aoi loved Ryo, she really did, but that didn't take away the black haired girl's bad habit of just… exploding without measuring her words or her actions. It was probably even worse when she could see said black haired from the corner of her eye, approaching with a dangerous look on her face.

"Who are you?" The both annoyed and bored tone in which Murasakibara spoke made Aoi wince involuntarily, glancing at his nonchalant expression before glancing at Ryo and her already twitching eye. That had never been a good sign, not in Elementary School, not in Middle School, and it certainly wouldn't be a good sign in High School.

"You answer me first!" She demanded, looking at the tall guy with hands on her hips, not caring she had to look up at him in the most literal way. Ryo was by absolutely no means as short as Aoi, proudly standing at her 5'7, so the difference between her and Murasakibara wasn't as shocking as it probably was with the brown haired girl herself. It still was weird to see her looking up at someone their age, but the way she glared at the guy told Aoi how little she worried about his height.

When he did not answer and turned his head away from her Ryo almost growled at him, narrowing her eyes even more.

"Why is she so annoying? So loud" Aoi had no idea as to _why_ he was looking at _her_ as he spoke, but you can be sure she wasn't all too grateful about it. There was no denying the increasingly dangerous frown on Ryo's face as she glanced at her, but any attempts of calming her down were stepped on when Murasakibara actually moved her head right and left until Aoi was looking at him again with what could only be described as a very pleading look. _She just wanted to avoid a bloodshed, please_ "Nee, is that your name? Aoi what?"

"You don't even kn- You don't know her? What are you even _thinking!?_ "

" _Ryo, please don't_ "

It was too much, it was too much and all at the same time. It was too much for anyone who preferred some degree of peace in her everyday life, or at least for someone that appreciated her being in control of her body instead of having someone else holding her head in a grip that didn't as if it were going to end anytime soon, if not someone who didn't precisely want to witness a murder. Ryo was angry, because Ryo got angry easily and on a weekly basis, and she was probably not above throwing a punch of two- Which wouldn't be a good idea, for many reasons, starting with the fact that she would probably break her hand if it collided with Murasakibara, and closely followed by either a detention or Aoi's head bursting like a grape if the purple haired got pissed and forgot that what he was holding was in fact a human head.

None of the options above were good. None. And Aoi was sure there were many others that were equally troublesome.

But then Murasakibara Atsushi started patting her head and she forgot how it was to understand a situation.

Because she was being patted on the head by a titan. Patted like a pet by a walking, breathing wall. And she still didn't know what was going on.

"Cotton candy"

Both girls blinked at the same time, and at the same time yet again turned their heads towards Murasakibara. He was standing in the same position, munching on a couple of Pockys he could have only pulled out while no one was looking, because they certainly hadn't been there a second ago- The tall teenager stared at her in a way that apparently was meant to be normal, without taking his eyes off, without looking away when he was being stared back at- In fact, Murasakibara barely _blinked_ after the words left his lips.

"….Excuse me?"

"You" He said with what had to be the most perfect poker face she had seen in her life, almost like he was talking about something as trivial as the weather. The Pocky disappeared in absolutely no time, but no one seemed to notice how unnatural it was as the guy tilted his head to one side, almost like a little kid, dragging absolutely all the attention to the finger lifted to poke at her not so slightly chubby cheek "You are fluffy. You look like cotton candy"

 _This is the most random person I've met in my entire life._

There was a moment of general silence, and when she said general, she meant the whole classroom went silent. Aoi had tried not to think about those who were in the same room as them, tried to ignore the fact that she was having way more attention from what she could probably stomach, but that silence was even worse than the whispers that could possibly exist. As a matter of fact, Aoi would have preferred noise over that kind of silence, because even her mind went blank with what had just been said to her. _If that happens to be an insult, he is pretty creative about it._

Ryo was the first one to react. Possible the worst thing that would have happened.

"Dude, even if I don't understand what you mean, I sure don't like what you are saying"

"Ehhhh, you are quite annoying" The glare was back to his face- Or maybe she should say a _full on_ glare appeared on Murasakibara's face this time around. That kind of expression between annoyance and laziness was not something Aoi had seen before, but it was enough to make the short girl gulp, quickly turning her head towards Ryo. Just like she expected the black haired girl had a tick on her eye, a vein pressed on her forehead, and Aoi could swear to god she could see fire somewhere around her. It really worried the brown haired when Ryo's hand placed itself on top of the nearest chair, and when the grip on her head tightened "It makes me want to crush you"

The black haired girl's reaction was like stepping on a field full of mines, chairs flying through the air in a very noisy and dangerous explosion of anger.

 ** _Kids really didn't like to be told that what they did was wrong._**

 ** _They probably liked even less not being paid enough attention._**

 ** _And at least Mikitana Aoi was right about one thing._**

 ** _There was no obvious name for what happened that day._**


	3. Not Obvious Reasons

**A/N:** English it's not my first language, reason why there could be grammatical mistakes.

 **A/N:** I do not own KnB

* * *

"Don't even pay attention to what he said- Scratch that! Just forget he ever _existed_!"

 ** _BAM!_**

"Aoi-san?

"Yes?"

"Is Koujikio-san alright?"

Aoi looked over her shoulder for a moment, hand pausing midair, trying to decide what to say at that. Ryo, being the girl who had more strength in her arms than what Aoi had in all her body, literally slammed the dough against the table, maybe kneading a little bit more than necessary with a little more strength than necessary. It was a good thing the table was resistant, if not, they would have been broke a lot time ago trying to replace all the damaged counters. At least it seemed to help with Ryo's upset state "She will be"

The light haired young man standing beside her didn't seem convinced by her words or smile, jumping in place when the dough was slammed against the counter once more, a string of curses leaving Ryo's lips, nodding slowly when he was certain a dark aura could be seen around the girl.

"….Alright…"

Aoi just smiled again.

"Thanks for the hard work today, Shinonome-san. There aren't so many things left to do, please don't worry" The young man looked at her again, nodding while pushing his glasses further up his nose, his eyes darting over the already prepared boxes carefully lining up against the wall, ready to be delivered the moment Kai came to pick them up "I will leave the fruit cut for tomorrow, and the cream already prepared for the delivery at first hour. Be careful on your way home"

Shinonome nodded again, tilting his head in a small bow "See you tomorrow, Aoi-san"

Ryo didn't seem to notice when the farewell was directed to her, but Shinonome was out of the door even before Aoi could say anything about it, probably eager to get away from the scene before the High School student decided to slam the dough against his head. Putting down the tools she had been working with, Aoi reached for the small towel hanging from her dark apron while she turned to Ryo, chuckling at her back and the poor dough in the girl's hand.

"Ryo, I think you are done over there"

The girl clicked her tongue when Aoi reached for a roller, glaring at the dough for a very long time, even after the other one was done and already folding it on a tray. It was like she was waiting for Aoi to move her feet in a certain way to start rambling once more, the angry expression returning to her face, hands reaching up to try and scrub some relieve into her temples.

"And he had the _guts_ to refuse when I asked him to switch seats. 'Best place to sleep' my ass! Who is the annoying one!? Who is he going to crush, eh!? And what the hell was that 'Cotton candy' thing!?" The black haired girl left her body fall onto the chair situated on the corner besides the counter, elbow resting on top of its smooth surface, chin positioned on top of her open palm, dark eyes searching for her face "Aoi, you were the one insulted, at least show a degree of anger"

As she lifted the tray on her hands and turned towards the fridge, Aoi's lip twitched. Why she felt amused at the precise moment wasn't something she could figure out, so the brown haired girl just smiled when the tray was inside the cold space and the open metal door hid her facial expression. Pushing the corners down so Ryo wouldn't think she was close to laughing proved to be hard, and clearing her throat was the only way Aoi found to pull her act together- It was easier to talk about it now, when there was no hand gripping her head "…..I'm not sure if it was an insult or not"

It wasn't a lie.

There was no point on even trying to lie when you were awful at it.

But that didn't mean Aoi did not have an idea of what it was about.

Cotton candy looked fluffy and was round. _Actually, she had heard it before. Her face and body in general had been compared to many different types of snacks and food back in elementary school, those years before she had learnt to deal with it._ Looking down at her legs, the wide knees and thighs that touched each other, the chubby hips and at the not at all firm stomach, Aoi thought there was no helping it if that was what Murasakibara meant- At least he hadn't looked as if it actually were meant to hurt her feelings.

And she had it better than many.

"What could have possibly be if not?"

 _What, I wonder._

"How are things back here?" One of the kitchen doors opened just as she got back to her work station, and since it was the main in his early thirties and not her teenager cousin, Aoi guessed Kai was momentarily taking over the job of cashier. Aoi listed inside her head the pastries and sweets on the counter behind them, just like they had been asked to make, as he came to a stop besides her- To an outsiders eyes, or even to Ryo's, the two of them were so alike it was almost scary; the similarities Aoi shared with her father were far greater than what anyone would have probably expected, from the tip of their noses to the way their lips naturally curled in a very small smile, their face expression by default.

In her opinion it was a habit that shouldn't particularly stand out.

"The boxes for the delivery are ready. Almost all the petals were dry already when I arrived, so I was just starting with the decoration of that one"

Mikitana Kei nodded, the smile frowning bigger as he lowered his head to take a better look at the three levels, almost pocket size white cake on top of the table, a couple of pink decorative petals - _sakura_ \- already carefully arranged from the very top, almost chuckling when his fingers brushed the broken pieces that rested besides the cake. Aoi only grimaced. Who ever said smaller pieces meant less work? That was simply not true. Ironically enough the baking part was not the difficult one, even when Aoi prayed it tasted as good as she hoped, but instead, the decoration proved to be difficult enough. She missed the summer break when she had all day to get some work done, but that was just not the case anymore.

The man observed every detail, every cut on the fondant cover on the cake itself, and the girl was aware of the breath she was holding in as the seconds ticked by. Even when her father was kind enough to appreciate her efforts, and had been the one taking care of her apprenticeship for quite some time now, it was a display piece what they were talking about, so he _would_ point out any possible mistake, no harm intended. There was absolutely no match for those eyes.

Finally, _finally_ , he nodded again.

"Very nice. This is very nice"

"You shouldn't tease her like that, Kei-san" Ryo chuckled from her seat, chin still on her hand "You will be guilty of your own daughter's death if she gets a heart attack"

Kei laughed, and it sounded refreshing.

"What were you screaming about this time, Ryo? We are lucky the customers are too far away to hear it"

Ryo scowled.

"Don't even remind me"

Aoi's lip twitched again.

* * *

"Neee, how did you ma-"

Her feet slipped.

But it wasn't when she stepped down. Actually, her foot would have been perfectly fine touching the step of the stair she was currently walking up, but then she was startled by the sudden voice and her whole body jumped, and it didn't land where it should have, and Aoi was already bracing herself to hit the ground with either her back or her head.

It was neither.

Or at least it wasn't the floor, or the stair steps.

Aoi wasn't comfortable in that position, but when she looked up to see just what was holding her in what appeared to be midair, she found herself staring at a pair of purple eyes. Murasakibara stood besides her, and she really didn't know when he got there, but if she was right, and the warmth that easily engulfed more than half of her back was anything to go back, then he lethargic titan was the one holding her in place.

Then Murasakibara blinked.

"Are?" The hand on her back pushed her forward and onto her feet once more, but she didn't exactly have the time to breathe or to calm her beating heart, the one that had practically leaped on her throat the moment she felt her foot missing the step. There was a hand on her head the second she turned around, and if she hadn't been through that already, it probably would have been a lot more terrifying than having to face Murasakibara now "Wata-gashi _(1)_ , you are like Kuro-chin. Ehh, but the size is not quite right? Kuro-chin is so tiny though…"

Who?

He went up one step, the same one she was standing on, and looked down at her even more than before- Murasakibara when he seemed to notice for the first time how wide the difference was, as if it hadn't been obvious already, or as if he really hadn't noticed before and was not that pleased with the revelation "Wata-gashi, you are too small"

"And you are too tall"

Did I say that aloud as well?

She did.

And Aoi realized that because Murasakibara was staring at her again, and this time she knew exactly why. A shiver went down her spine when the hand just stayed still on her head, heavying her skull down, and Aoi would have gulped if it hadn't been for that moment when the guy tilted his head to one side like a kid, humming and nodding at her words.

"I suppose I am"

That' it?

Apparently, it was.

Murasakibara reached for something inside his bag, taking out a bag of chips almost larger than the bag itself, frowning once more when he couldn't open it at the first try, but the purple haired giant still didn't step down from the stairs. Aoi stared at the bag of chips, then at the sports bag hanging from his shoulder, and she silently wondered if that was the end of the conversation. But he still didn't move, and he was still glancing at her and her eyes on his person, and Aoi wondered if there was a particular expression on her face or if her lips were already curled into the slight smile her muscles were apparently designed to make.

It would be awkward if that was the case.

It would be even more awkward if someone could read her mind and notice nothing made sense.

"….Club activities already started"

She closed her eyes almost instantly, as if in pain at her own choice of words, wincing at the random piece of information he probably already knew.

"Ahh, I know. I fell asleep. Doesn't matter, practice is boring anyway"

But then he answered, and it sounded like he was in no way puzzled by what she choose to say. Aoi blinked up at him, taking in his lazy demour and how he still didn't move. He didn't seem in a hurry or anything of the sorts- Actually, he didn't look as if it were something anyone should worry about.

"…..Don't you like it?"

She wasn't particularly sure what part of her brain ignored how he still didn't make any sense as a human being, practically kicking the words out of her mouth before Aoi herself was actually aware of it.

Aoi blinked when he stared from above- Just how much taller was he? Two rulers, maybe? Aoi wasn't the only one in her family to have lost the battle against genes, pulling out the short stick and standing under 5 foot, but none of her aunts, not even the ones who were an inch or two shorter than her, probably had to face someone who was as tall as a wall. Murasakibara Atsushi stared at her like he couldn't hear her this time either, like the distance made it somehow more difficult for the words to reach comfortably, and the girl really didn't know if it was a sign that she had to stop being played with by the situation and start to act like an average human being instead of a mute, or if it was a sign that she could still run for it.

The girl choose the first option.

"Basket. Don't… Don't you like it?"

This time, to her relief, Murasakibara hummed in understanding.

"Not particularly"

Apparently, the way she stared at him after that answer also was very 'Kuro-chin like'.

Aoi didn't know what it was about.

She just knew such similarity made him want to crush her.

Which still wasn't an assuring choice of words.

 **Deep inside, Koujikio Ryo did have her reasons to try and dislike Murasakibara Atsushi.**

 **Mikitana Aoi had none to think he was precisely a bad person.**

 **And Murasakibara Atsushi had not so obvious reasons to only be able to describe her with the word 'fluffy'**

* * *

(1): Cotton Candy


	4. That Moment of Hesitation

**A/N:** I do not own KNB.

 **A/N:** English is not my first language.

* * *

 _"_ _Do you have more food?"_

 _"_ _I don't. Sorry"_

 _"_ _But it was yummy"_

 _"_ _I'm glad. Maybe another time?"_

 _"_ _But I'm hungry now"_

 _"…_ _I do apologize"_

 _Silence._

 _"Excuse me, Murasakibara-san?"_

 _"_ _Mm?"_

 _"_ _Would you please let go of my head?"_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _Silence again._

 _"_ _Forget I said anything"_

* * *

"Nha, Ryo"

"Umm?"

"Do you like tennis?"

"I wouldn't be on a tennis scholarship in this school if I didn't" Aoi looked at her friend from over the computer screen she had been blankly staring at for about ten minutes before the words just kind of stumbled out of her mouth. The black haired girl sat in front of her own electronic device, her own screen back to back with Aoi's, apparently not bothered by the silence the Computer Lab room had been submerged in until now. Then, Ryo looked up from the homework she was working on, and gave the brown haired a curious look when Aoi looked like she was still expecting a more concrete answer "Yes, I like it. I like it very much. You know I do"

" _Ohh?_ Now, how lovely is this _?_ Your straightforwardness is endearing"

But moment the person beside Aoi snickered quite loudly, openly speaking with a tone laced to the core with teasing, Ryo's facial expression went from curious to dark. Extremely dark. Her dark eyes were dragged from Aoi to the short haired girl sitting beside her short friend, slightly blonde strands framing a small face that contained a Cheshire like smile that not even the very cat from Alice in Wonderland could match. But because it was Haruka, and Haruka had managed to stay alive after teasing and mocking Ryo for over three years now, smiling as if it were as entertaining as pocking a bear with a stick and coming out without a scratch, Aoi wasn't worried a chair would be thrown to her or anything of the sorts.

"Don't you have someone to stalk, Haruka?"

Haruka's grin widened.

"I will always have time for you, dear friend"

Aoi just hummed and went back to stare at her screen.

She tried to focus on the paper she was supposed to work at, she really did, but there was something tickling in the back of her mind that didn't let Aoi live in peace- There was no reason for it to bother her so much, there was no particular reason for her to keep on thinking about it, but her brain just kept on going back to the topic time after time after time after time. The short girl tried to scrub her face with both hands to free herself from wandering thoughts, because more than not having to do anything with her, she had known for a long time how people didn't particularly like strangers talking about their personal business. The movement didn't exactly work, leaving Aoi to hold her face with both hands while staring at the screen.

 _What was what she was supposed to be investigation about again?_

The maroon eyed girl caught moment from the corner of her eye, but before she could turn her head to look at what her friend was doing, Haruka had already leaned into Aoi's side of the booth, hands reaching out to the keyboard, an almost silent chuckle escaping her lips when she started to type something on the search bar.

 ** _Murasakibara Atsushi, Basketball player_**

Then, without contemplations, Haruka pressed 'Enter'.

What easily were hundreds upon hundreds of options appeared right in front of Aoi's face, but she was too busy looking at Haruka to notice just how many there actually were. In return, the short haired girl brought a finger to her lips, glancing at Ryo with an extremely amused look in her eyes, checking that the black haired girl didn't notice what she had done- Aoi thought Ryo wouldn't look half as amused as Haruka if she saw what her screen was showing, but she also guessed that's what the silence gesture was for in the first time.

* * *

"What is that?"

' _Teiko'_

When he first reached out to her head, sitting from his place, Murasakibara's eyes were on the brown bag innocently sitting on top of her desk besides an open notebook – _How he knew there was food inside, she would never know_ -.

His arm was so long he didn't need to do as much as lean a little bit towards her side to reach Aoi, and the purple haired giant didn't seem to notice how much of a bully he looked like at the moment. But then his eyes turned to her, looking for some sort of answer since he had received none, and the only visible sight that he, in fact, wasn't expecting to already find a pair of maroon eyes already looking at him, was an immediate blink.

' _Prodigies_ '

Aoi looked up at Murasakibara from under his hand, eyes fixed on his face, knowing she was testing the limits of how long you could look at someone without seeming rude; this time around, there was no buzzing, there was no major noise on the background, nor thick silence. There was no surprise weighting down her stomach into a nervous mess, and that was an improvement in a lot of ways. She could think straight, Aoi was conscious of how curiosity and hesitation fought inside her brain, struggling with herself when curiosity took a head lead, fingers fidgeting from under the fabric of her school sweater.

 _Haruka was probably laughing to herself somewhere._

"How was training yesterday?"

The question rolled out of her tongue easily enough. Thing is, as soon as it was out and on his side of the court for him to answer, hesitation won the battle for supremacy and took over her brain, and the girl almost desperately tried to shut her mouth, pressing her lips together into very thin line, effectively kicking off the unnecessary smile for a second. That was the moment Mikitana Aoi vowed to sit through Ryo's next lecture about how she shouldn't let her habits out around strangers, without as much as blinking- Murasakibara wasn't Rie, and he wasn't Ryo herself. He wasn't her cousin and he wasn't her childhood friend. _He was_ _ **just**_ _a classmate, and that he did or didn't do_ _ **wasn't her business.**_

- _"Stop pestering people about what they do and just shut up!"-_

But then Murasakibara hummed and all of her inner battle and not quite nice memories were drowned on the sound.

"Masako-chin is scary, and she makes me run too much. She wants me to play all the time too" To say Aoi was not prepared for the whining and the complaining and the obviously annoyed pout on a very large, very lazy face, would be a huge understatement. Murasakibara retreated his hand to reach for a bag of chips out of the pile inside the plastic bag hanging by the side of his desk, pout still in place, and the whole time all Aoi did was blink in surprise. It wasn't the first time he looked like a child, a very large child, but it was the first time Aoi was almost completely dragged by his mannerisms and actually took his pout in- She wasn't the youngest of a large family, they were a couple of kids still in elementary school, and the second their faces and Murasakibara's current expression turned out to be basically the same, her lips twitched "Now I'm _always_ hungry"

 _Well, that explains it._

Inevitably, her eyes ended up on the junk food now scattered on his desk and the one that was still sticking out of his bag- Just how much was that? How did he even fit books inside when there were so many bags and Pocky boxes? Sitting beside Murasakibara proved to be enlightening in certain ways. At least now she knew she could fit more than twenty packages of something in her bag if she put herself to it, and that you could apparently buy your weight in chips if you used your entire allowance- But the fact that there were more chips in his desk than the ones she had eaten in a year was still unsettling to say the least

"But isn't that….a bad diet?"

Murasakibara hummed again.

"It is?"

' _Generation of Miracles. Great expectations for their High School year's performance-'_

She bite the inside of her mouth.

"….Do you-"

"Hmm?"

She took a hold of the brown bag, trying very hard not to look as if that had been plan C or D, and held it out.

"Do you want to trade?"

 _-"We don't only make this for exceptions. If someone normal eats it, and they say it tastes good, it would be equally as rewarding"-_

 _-"It's like cheering for your school's team when you don't even like sports. Maybe some sort of collective pride? I think it's worth doing things for"-_

Both her dad's and Ryo's voice ringed in her ears, but it was awfully quite when Murasakibara's eyes focused on the bag she was handing him. A both lazy a content miniature version of a smile appeared on his face, looking to all the world like he had just woken up, reaching out for the bag almost immediately, hands full with at least two three small bags of chips that somehow ended up on her desk.

"It's a deaaal"

And that was it.

It was done.

It was done and over with in a less than five minute conversation.

Murasakibara opened the bag almost eagerly, and it was the sight of an almost content curl of his lips that had her own stretching out slowly, until the smile was there and satisfaction settle in and maybe she was selfish for feeling so good, but good gracious, wasn't this an accomplishment. She could almost feel her dad patting her on the head for a good job. Murasakibara turned to her, but even that moment of silence in which he said nothing and just stared didn't take away the smile. But that too was over and done with quite fast.

"Are? Aren't you going to eat?"

Her eyes landed on the small pile of snacks in front of her, the smile out of her face faster than it took Murasakibara to eat three pieces of the fluffy cake when realization hit the girl with the force of a thousand buckets of cold water.

"…Maybe later"

 _…_ _.What am I going to do with these now?_

 ** _The greater good. Think about the greater good._**

* * *

"Some strawberries can go here, and some blue berries here, and- Aoi? Are you okay?"

Mikitana Kei glanced at his daughter for another opinion, hand stopping in the middle of drawing said fruits on the small notebook he was holding when he noticed just how far from earth she was. Aoi held a pencil on her hand, pointy end hovering over the basic sketch of a cake on her own notebook, notes scattered all over the page due to the lack of artistic skills and need of detail, but even when her eyes were definitely set on what she had been working on the first five minutes they sat on the waiting room, it was too obvious she was not paying attention to it.

Actually, Kei was not even sure she was blinking.

The elder lady that sat next to Aoi tilted her head at them, a worried expression on her face when the younger girl didn't move at all, but with a shook of his head and a small bow, accompanied by a smile, the man tried to transmit that it wasn't somehow worrying. It wasn't until Aoi was nudged by his shoulder that she seemed to be able to blink again, snapping out of it.

"Eh?" The girl blinked once more, eyes focusing on the sketch before looking up at the man sitting beside her, almost overlooking the amused smile on his face. Shaking her head, she tried to clear her thoughts, frowning slightly "Ah- Sorry, did you say something?"

The man looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his whole body turning in her direction with an amused smile and a chuckle escaping his lips. Aoi felt her cheeks burning slightly at the sound, embarrassment rolling under her skin "Don't ask me exactly how, but right now you look quite happy" Kei chuckled again.

Unconsciously, the girl reached up to her cheek, touching the round thing with the tips of her fingers- She was still blushing, of that she was sure. Aoi tried to press her lips into a thin line, dropping the pencil into her lap and reaching to touch the other cheek with her now free left hand, a muttered question evoking another chuckle from her dad "Is it because of the smile?"

"If you are still embarrassed by it, I must apologize- I have the feelings my genes were in full command of your facial features"

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before something between a snicker and a muffled laugh was caught in Aoi's throat, not being able to contain the giggle when almost the same thing happened to Kei, shaking her head in a vain attempt of setting some seriousness into the situation.

"That shouldn't be so funny"

"Mikitana Aoi" A voice called her from one of the hallways, making both of them turn around in the direction of the sound, recognition filling their ears. Aoi gathered her things and placed them inside her bag, standing up from the seat.

"Do you want me to go in with you?"

"You are really into your work right now" Aoi laughed a little, fixing the bag on her shoulder, trying to fix the sleeves of her school's cardigan in the process. Giving up, because as usual she was never going to find one small enough to fit her properly, she smiled at her father "Surely, if you move right now you are going to lose your idea"

"You know me too well, daughter of mine" Mikitana Kei chucked at her words, handing her some papers he had with him, making sure he gave her everything she needed "Here, the result of the tests. Call me if you need anything, though" The girl nodded.

"Yes sir"

The hallway went from soft blue, to white, to grey, soft looking colors that went well with each other. She walked by some doors and a couple of vending machines, busy with the papers in her hands, making sure she had everything she needed and mentally going through the list of questions both her dad and her had thought of in the morning over breakfast- As usual, it was not long at all. Her feet stopped almost automatically in front of the familiar looking door, the name tag hanging to one side showing that it was the right room, her hand setting itself on top of the knob. But before she could turn it around it was already moving, and she almost squeaked in surprise when the door opened almost immediately, the papers slipping from her hands.

Sometimes Aoi forgot Murasakibara was not the only 'taller than average' person in the world, or at least in Akita.

Of course, this did not mean she didn't notice how everyone was in fact taller than her, she was just a little bit too aware of how the purple haired was taller than everyone else. But when Murasakibara was nowhere near her, because he was not always with her at school, she became aware of other people as well, only not as surprised, not as overwhelmed as she used to be. But somehow she was left with a strong sense of déjà vu when her eyes went up and up and up until they meet with dark eyes.

He is wearing my school's uniform.

"I-I'm sorry"

"It was my fault" His voice was deep, something to be expected from someone that was so tall, but even when she was obviously closer to the ground than her possible sempai, he was fast when he almost literally knelt to pick up the papers, standing again even before she could say anything about it. Because his eyes stretched to the sides in a way that told him apart from a Japanese person, his face looked almost too…. neutral, maybe a step too far into the Poker face zone "Here" Aoi was caught off guard when he handed her the papers, patiently waiting for her to take them. The girl blushed a little at how obvious her staring was, thinking that maybe she was picking up some of Murasakibara's habits without noticing. Trying to hide it with a smile that, Aoi hoped, would look apologetic enough, she took the papers.

"Thank you very much" Aoi bowed her head, gesture that he copied to a certain point before stepping aside-Maybe it was because she had exchanged at least a few words with him, but now, his face didn't look as nonchalant as before. The girl entered the room with a smile on her face, glancing at the desk and the woman that sat behind it. The curly haired nurse smiled at her, standing from her seat.

"Is nice to see you again, Mikitana-san" She greeted, a clipboard almost magically appearing on her hands.

"Good evening"

The woman motioned towards a door Aoi already knew, a kind smile on her face "Please, wait inside, Doctor Kushieda will be with you in no time"

* * *

 **Mikitana Aoi would forever remember the facial differences between Japanese people, and Chinese**


	5. Tiny Little Consequences -Not really-

**A/N:** I do not own KNB

 **A/N:** English is not my first language.

* * *

 _"_ _Nee"_

 _"…_ _Yes?"_

 _"_ _Can we keep on trading food?"_

 _Aoi blinked._

 _"_ _I thought you liked your snacks"_

 _Murasakibara blinked back._

 _"_ _Is that a no?"_

 _There was a moment of silence._

 _"…_ _..Here you go"_

* * *

There was a voice on the back of her head that constantly reminded Aoi just how much space in her life the consequences would take.

It took the girl less than a day to figure out what exactly type of consequences those were.

"Nee, neee, what did you bring today?"

In case you were wondering, it wasn't a surprise.

Aoi had expected it since she sat in her place beside the window, calmly taking a breath when she felt the enormous presence approach her on lunch break.

 _She wasn't a pushover._

 _But_ there was something unusually calm on the way she took out the books from her bag, placing them on the desk, before turning her head towards Murasakibara and answering with the muscles of her cheeks already curling her lips into _that_ smile. _If anything, Aoi was more mortified because of that almost stupid habit than how she was willingly giving up her food._

"Cookies"

Only a part of her mind hoped the dried fruits would counterbalance the somehow plain flavor the oats had, but as the purple haired kept taking cookies out and munching on them without complaining, the part that was more focused on her homework took over, barely nodding as he absent mindedly placed a more than a few bags of chips and a box of Pocky on her desk.

And that was it.

And it probably would have stayed like that.

But then, two days later, Haruka appeared in their classroom, armed with an armful of orange juices.

"I picked this on my way here, thought you would be missing her, Aoi" Said the girl in greeting, smiling widely and brightly as she nodded to the something, or more like someone, that was following her closely behind "She was swearing at the vending machine when I found her"

"I was not swearing, and I am not a dog, stop talking about me like I am" While hissing, Ryo snatched one of the juices of herself, taking a long sip before pointing her finger at Murasakibara and the familiar brown bag he was holding. And Aoi could _almost_ chuckle at that, because it was like seeing a fighter refreshing herself before another round; as a matter of fact, she could even see Murasakibara slightly raising his body, shoulders not as low as before, eyes a little bit sharper. _And so it goes_ "If anything, this pain in the ass over here is the closest thing to one. Aoi, why did you give him food? Stray dogs follow you around if you feed them. It was been a week, and he is still _here_ "

Murasakibara glared at Ryo.

"I'm not a dog"

Ryo glared back.

"You sure look like a stray to me"

"I don't want a _dumb_ person like you calling me that"

"You are the dumb one!"

"Am not!"

Haruka laughed.

"This guy is pretty interesting" The short haired girl literally stood in the middle of the two arguing teenagers when she placed a juice on top of Aoi's desk, humming momentarily to herself when she turned around, a smirk gracing her face when Murasakibara's eyes narrowed at her even before Haruka had the chance to leave one of the two remaining packages on his desk. But once she did it, the girl smiled quite amusedly at him "Hello, Murasakibara-kun"

"Who are you?" If he had been anyone else, Aoi would have said it was strange for him not to have noticed Haruka before today. Not only because she had waved at them from the door a couple of times, or those times she screamed their names from a random classroom when their own class in P.E, but because Haruka had taken after her French mother and not her Japanese father- Actually, she looked more western than she looked Asian. People normally noticed her right away. But since it was Murasakibara she was talking about it was not surprising at all.

But Haruka didn't beat an eyelash.

"Kinoshita Haruka, class 1-C. I'm Ryo's and Aoi's friend from middle school" She introduced herself quite cordially, taking a sip of her own juice, amusement written all over her face. Murasakibara looked at her for a second, little to zero tact when he turned his head to the other side and looked at Aoi, hand reaching into the bag instead of the juice, taking another cookie out.

"Is she aggressive like her? I don't want to be poisoned" With one of his fingers being pointed at Ryo and his eyes on Aoi's face, the lazy giant was completely oblivious to the vein that popped on said black haired's forehead. Haruka first chuckled, then snickered, then silently laughed to one side, hand firmly pressed against her mouth while the other gripped the juice as tightly as she could without spilling the contents onto her uniform, but it all contributed to the increasing anger emanating from Ryo.

"Fu-

"Koujikio! A sempai is calling for you!"

If Ryo had something colorful to say about it, which she clearly had, it was quite fortunately interrupted by the voice of a classmate. It was easy to spot the person who didn't belong- A third year student standing by the door, obviously waiting for the girl to approach her, stern eyes fixed on Ryo's now anger free face. It was easy to notice it was tennis related, and it was even easier to come to the conclusion that upperclassman was the captain of the Club. Had it not been Haruka and Aoi watching her, no one would have noticed how Ryo's shoulder tensed slightly, or how she took a deeper breathe, slowly placing the juice on top of Aoi's desk.

"Specially recruited students sure have it hard. I'm guessing their competitions are starting soon enough- How unusual to see someone put her in line" Haruka chuckled, finally calming down from her laughing fit. Instead, she glanced at Aoi and her notebook, tilting her head with a knowing smile "Still doing homework in between breaks?" The girl nodded.

"Yes, I might not have the time to finish it today"

"Ohh, needed at work after school? I get you. Some things never change" Haruka stretched her arms over her head, an almost content smile on her face when her muscles found a comfortable position. Aoi tilted her face, trying to have a better view of the smudged make up under Haruka's eyes. Were those dark circles?

"Are you sleeping enough?" Haruka chuckled while scratching the back of her head, holding her almost forgotten juice close to her face with her other hand, taking a long sip, a sheepish grin spreading on her lips

"Ah, got caught? I'm going to be fine. Soon enough I won't be as busy, so I'll take it slow next week" Promised the girl, smiling brightly "It has been a pleasure, but I have to take care of some things before the bell rings. It was nice to meet you, Murasakibara-kun" When the blonde girl turned towards said person, who was still staring at the orange juice as if he still suspected it to be poisoned, the corners of her lips curled up slightly. Haruka hummed, seeming satisfied "And here I thought you two were going to feel lonely without me"

Then she laughed again, waving with her free hand.

"Bye bye"

"She is like Sat-chin" It was not like Murasakibara waited for Haruka to walk out of his field of vision to say that, he just didn't feel up to say it to her face, or when she was close enough to comment on it. Yawning, he leaned even more against his seat. Aoi blinked at him.

"….Sat-chin?"

"Manager of my old team" Murasakibara shrugged, reaching for another cookie, tilting his head backwards as he munched on the snack "She doesn't look like her, but… maybe it's my imagination" He shrugged again before staring at the juice that had been left. The purple haired guy had seen it, the amused intentions and way of talking, and he didn't particularly like how the girl looked at him. But if Momoi Satsuki didn't actually make it, she had otherwise never given anything to him that didn't taste good- And it was free juice. So he opened and took a long sip, taking in almost half of the liquid in a moment "You have weird friends"

When the words reached her eyes, and it made her choke back a snicker, Aoi already was writing on her notebook once more.

"….If Haruka reminds you of your friend, then we are the same"

He stared, and maybe Aoi was not conscious of it for the first couple of minutes. Murasakibara still had his head tilted backwards, eyes still on the same place.

After a two or three minutes, Aoi's fingers started twitching, and she tried very hard to stay focused.

 _Why was he still staring?_

"She made you happy"

 _That stupid…._

Aoi had to breathe deeply to not reach up and try to pat her cheeks in hope the smile would for once go away. It wasn't going to work, and she knew it, but the urge was still there. Instead, Aoi tried to answer as calmly she possibly could, biting down whatever could have been said about that little detail. No one needed to know.

"Haruka has always been considerate" As if to prove a point, the girl shook the juice in her hand "This is one of my favorites"

"You are happy because she is considerate?"

"….It's not the main reason. I guess I'm just happy because I saw her"

"Ehh" He made that childish, unamused tone he normally had. Ryo had said it was creepy, that Murasakibara in general was creepy, but Aoi couldn't really categorize it on her own. Was she amused by it? Yes she was, but at the moment she was more entertained with his eyes on her, feeling slightly self-conscious while she was at it "You are easy to please"

 _She had heard that one before._

So Aoi just did her best to shrug.

"Really?"

* * *

"Mikitana Aoi-san, right?"

Aoi stopped walking the minute someone called out to her, bag heavy with books on her shoulder. The hallway was silent except from the chatter that could be heard from the couple of club room's on that floor, and so, it wasn't hard to find the person who had spoken, just having to turn around to find him standing a just behind her. But to say she was stunned by what she saw, could be a major understatement.

She was sure she had never seen a prettier _boy_ in her _life_ , never mind her own school, and Aoi knew her had seen her fair share of very nice looking people. The dark haired guy standing in front of her had a charming smile plastered on his face, something that _somehow_ accentuated the mole under the only visible eye, since the other was covered by his hair, smooth skin looking ten thousand times better than her own, not a single mark or pimple visible. Aoi knew she was holding her breath, which was better that openly wanted as she initially had wanted to do, but at least she was not saying any of that out loud.

"Y-Yes?"

At her answer the guy's smile was even brighter, if possible, and he took a step closer to her. That was when she noticed how significantly tall he was, although not taller than certain purple haired teenager, but it was enough to make the girl crane her neck a little bit more now "My name is Himuro Tatsuya, I am a second year student. It's a pleasure to meet you"

Aoi found it in herself to return the greeting without stuttering, which was something she would be proud of for the rest of her life.

"Nice to meet you too"

Himuro hummed almost happily when she bowed her head, and he looked maybe a little bit too happy for someone who had spent the whole day studying. Or maybe it was her imagination.

"You see, Mikitana-san, I am part of the Student Council" He explained, and his presence and introduction started to make a little more sense to her. Aoi nodded, hands folded in front of her, fully going back to her senses "You already filled and delivered the consideration form after the first month of trials was over. You are thinking of joining the Health Committee, right? I understand you like it over the other options"

"Yes"

"I see"

Aoi waited to hear something about having to fill another form, maybe about having to talk with the nurse herself. Something to do with procedures or schedule, or even a problem that had raised recently.

But none of that came.

Actually, nothing came at all.

Her upperclassman stood there, still charmingly smiling at her, an absolutely pleased expression on his face, but saying nothing at all. Aoi tried to look somewhere else when she realized she was staring, because she _really_ disliked doing so, but it was almost impossible, and it grew to be a little bit more uncomfortable when a few seconds went by and he still didn't say anything- It almost was like he was taking a minute to enjoy whatever had him looking so, dare she say, _accomplished_. The girl shifted her weight from one feet to the other when Himuro finally hummed, fidgeting with the ends of her sleeves, eyes strained on his face as she kept on waiting for something to happen.

"If you ever have a problem with something, anything _at all_ , please let me know, alright?"

Aoi blinked.

"...Okay?"

Nodding in satisfaction, Himuro smiled brightly.

"Have a nice day, Mikitana-san"

And with that, he was gone.

….. _What did just happen?_

* * *

 **Mikitana Aoi would someday realize it was her own fault.**

 **But she would always think Himuro Tatsuya took the 'mother hen' act a step a little too far when he decided stalking her academic background was a good thing.**


	6. What Manipulation Probably Looks Like

**A/N:** English it's not my first language, reason why there could be grammatical mistakes.

 **A/N:** I do not own KnB

* * *

 _"…_ _Murasakibara-san?" She called him for the third time, sighing in worry when he didn't move at all, not looking forward to the possibility of the teacher noticing how they were the only group that had not started working, and the reason behind it. Aoi lifted a hand towards him, nudging his shoulder a little bit until his head finally lifted from his arms, but the movement was so sudden she sat back on her seat because of the surprise. Blinking, Murasakibara's eyes focused on the front of the classroom first, then, he slowly turned his head in her direction "Eh..." He stared at her, not moving or saying a thing, so she tried to smile at him "We are working as a group. We have to answer this questions" Aoi lifted the paper for him to see, but there still wasn't a significant reaction- He didn't even_ _ **look**_ _at it, his eyes still fixed on her face "I can take the first half of it an-"_

 _"_ _I'm sleepy"_

 _Aoi blinked._

 _"_ _Ah?"_

 _"_ _I want to sleep"_

 _The girl watched almost helplessly as he openly yawned almost loudly, a bored, sleepy, maybe even tired expression on his face, looking down at the paper on her hands with a sight after a moment. Arguing had never been something she was peculiarly good at, but it was not like she was up to do the work alone, firstly because she would never finish by the end of the class and secondly because it was beyond irresponsible. And maybe that was the reason behind her slight frown and thoughtful expression and why she jumped on her seat when a chair was suddenly pulled to the side of her desk, and when a pair of unbelievably long legs stretched under it, not leaving much space for her own._

 _Murasakibara yawned again, stretching his arms over his head before he looked at her, head tilted to one side and face furrowed in a still sleepy expression- Aoi felt her eyes going wide when she noticed he had actually bought a notebook and a pencil with him, an enormous hand already setting the thing open on a blank page. There were notes written on the previous pages, not as neat as Ryo's, maybe not as organized as the teacher's, but understandable nevertheless._

 _"_ _What's the second half about?"_

* * *

"Mikitana-san, you are friends with Murasakibara Atsushi-kun, right?"

At some point, Aoi had to remind herself that staring at her teacher was not good.

But even knowing that, it was hard to do something else. The girl fought the temptation of rolling back and forward on her heels, or fidgeting with the end of her sweater, or gaping, things that her body suddenly and quite desperately wanted to do all at the same time- At least allowing her eyes to fix themselves on the man sitting in the chair before her was fair, probably not blinking for a full minute. It didn't, however, contribute to the train wrack her brain was currently going through, scrambling her mind in search for an answer or at least some sort of explanation to what had just been said.

 _Friends. What is a friend? Ryo, Haruka, Asuka, the twins. They are friends, we are friends._

 _Who was he talking about again? There is only one Murasakibara Atsushi. Are we friends? Are we? Are we friends?_

When the teacher looked at her, expectantly waiting for an answer, Aoi took a deep breathe, barely moving her shoulders and trying to read his mind to see if inside there were the answers she was looking for.

"….We are… acquaintances?"

Honda Gou, homeroom teacher to a bunch of teenagers that were just starting to learn how to cope with a western like school system that consisted of a bunch of new subjects and a bunch of extracurricular activities and a bunch of rules and procedures to follow, probably had remind himself he wasn't supposed to stare at his students over their very awkward answers. And Aoi admired him for achieving what she hadn't been capable of doing, which was looking away from her.

"Well" He cleared his throat, reaching for some documents on his desk. Aoi recognized some, but the ones that stood out to her eyes were the ones with her own handwriting mixed with a surprisingly neat one that clearly belonged to someone else "He has done the last few assignments with you-" _She was the one closest to his seat, he really didn't want to move_ "You seem to work well together" _He works good enough on his own…?_ **_And_** he got higher marks than her on the first midterm test they had- Aoi still wasn't sure of how that worked "So maybe you can help me with this" But the teacher didn't hear her internal monologue, glancing up at her once more. And Aoi wasn't entirely just of what 'this' meant, but she couldn't very well turn him down, not when a) he was her teacher and b) she didn't know what it was about. The only thing was that, as she nodded, the short girl thought of how displeased certain black haired would be upon hearing of this.

"His grades are not low, but there are a certain amount of duties he must fulfill as one of our students. He hasn't signed up from any of the last Committee trails, and maybe he is not aware of its obligatory nature" The man sighed, then tapped at one paper "But he did submit the consideration form for the same Committee as you a couple of weeks ago- Health Committee, yes?" Then, her teacher frowned, shaking his head and looking at her with a serious expression "This is by no means a preference attitude towards him, brilliant basketball player or not, but I would rather solve this without a serious intervention. Do you think you can lend me a hand?"

 _What can I possibly do to help you? Drag him myself? That is not even physically possible._

The girl was about to give a more polite version of her inner thoughts, but stopped herself the second she started to open her mouth.

 _They didn't_ …. it wasn't like they _didn't_ get along well enough. She had known Murasakibara for maybe a month and a half, and that wasn't enough time to form a long lasting friendship with anyone, but if they didn't get along, it would have been more than enough time to completely ignore each other's existence. Murasakibara Atsushi was as lazy as a sloth looked, but he was smart and he wasn't a bad person and he liked her snacks – _even when he still traded an horrifying amount of junk food for them_ \- and even when he rilled up Ryo faster than Haruka had ever done, it wasn't half as bad when you knew no one was going to get hurt.

 _And he is good at physics. Which I am not. Which has to be solved before the next test._

* * *

"…I think I have an idea"

"Can I have the muffins now?"

"You can't eat in the infirmary"

"But there is nothing to do heeere"

"As soon as we finish with this"

The girl didn't even flinch when an enormous hand landed on her head, tilting it right and left without pausing for a second, not even when Kawahana Nana, the head nurse in charge of instructing the Health Committee, stared at them from behind her desk, absent mindedly accepting the registration form from the student that was currently handing it to her. Aoi just closed her eyes and prayed for the safety of her skull, shoulders still tense when Murasakibara's voice drawled on in a whine "But I am hungry"

 _Sensei, I hope you know I'm doing my best._

"Just a little bit more"

Aoi really didn't know if that was meant for him or for herself, but either way, he till pouted loudly at her words. The brown haired hoped it indeed would take just a little bit more, and opening her eyes to peek at the queue of students in front of her, waiting for their own turns to give their forms, Aoi really hoped they would move as fast as she hoped. The pressure in her head was still there, and although she didn't particularly mind being in his presence for long periods of time, she had the feeling it wouldn't stop soon enough.

Glancing down, the girl tried to also take a peek at Murasakibara sheet, but it was turned away from her. She hadn't even seen him filling up the registration form, but he was holding it in one hand anyway, and Aoi really didn't know if he was still there to hand it over to the head nurse or waiting to drag her back to her bag, where the promised snacks waited.

"Excuse me"

Aoi didn't recognize the voice immediately. She realized who it belonged to when she caught a somehow familiar black hair with the corner of her eye, and by the time she turned around, Himuro Tatsuya was already looking at both of them with a smile on his face. The first year blinked, taking in the brief greeting the second year gave the head nurse before walking towards them, and the girl really didn't know it was them he was walking towards until he was two steps away from their positions in the queue.

"Sempai?"

She was even more surprised when the giant still attached to her head seemed to turn his attention to the newcomer.

"Ahh, Muro-chin is here. Didn't you have things to do?" Aoi blinked up at her classmate's greeting, and at the movement, Murasakibara himself blinked in surprise before glancing down at her. His hand slipped from her head to her shoulder, and it didn't stop until his arm was hanging on her person, almost bringing her down with its weight. Just how heavy was he? But Murasakibara didn't seem to notice that little fact all that much, still blinking it curiosity "Aree? Does Wata-gashi know Muro-chin?

A chuckling 'Muro-chin' answered before Aoi could even open her mouth "Yes, we have meet before. And I am here _because_ I have things to do" The guy nodded towards the head nurse "We are recollecting the fist year's forms for the Committes they are going to sign up in"

"Ehhh Student Council members have it tough"

At that, Aoi had to nod along.

"And we are so many first years…"

"It's really nothing" Himuro laughed good naturally "I trust you haven't changed your choice, Mikitana-chan?"

It took her a second to realize that yes, indeed, he was talking to her directly, actually looking expectantly at her. The girl wasn't too sure why, but there was something in the sudden interest he shown that reminded her of someone…. Who was it? That particular gleem… Aoi was sure she had seen it somewhere else. Or was It her imagination?

All in all, she somehow managed to nod once more "U-Um"

"That's good" And she wasn't too sure why exactly it was good, but before Himuro looked quite convinced that it was the case, looking for all the world like Christmas had come early. Before Aoi could even think of finding it strange, the second year turned to look at Murasakibara, who had been until now swinging his hand absentmindedly "Atsushi, are _you_ going to join the Health Committee? Do you mind me getting your registration form? I can get them signed quicker"

"Umm?" Murasakibara hummed, tilting his head to one side. It didn't even take him a second to hand his sempai the form, looking way too happy to get it over with "I have to join one anyway, right? Then okay" The purple haired's arm was still on her shoulder, but his limb as lo large that the teenager flexed his elbow to grab her head again without entirely moving his arm from her shoulder. Aoi was too busy gaping at the movement to even notice when he started shaking her head once more "Can we go eat now? Muro-chin can turn it in now"

"That is a good Committee choice, Atsushi. Very well done"

Himuro Tatsuya looked pleased.

 _Extremely_ pleased.

In fact, he was _beaming_ like a sunflower in midsummer, happiness and contentment pouring out of every single inch of his perfectly shaped face, an impossibly charming smile stretching to unknown limits, and the girl was sure the dreamy sighs that could be heard in the background weren't part of her imagination. Aoi herself felt almost completely dumbfounded by the sight of his face and the presence of the close to blinding aura, that ' _almost_ ' being because of two main reasons- First, she was clearly used to her father. And if someone knew how to be charming, was the man who handled interview after interview and faced customers every single day.

The second reason was a little bit different.

It wasn't precisely a bad feeling.

It wasn't a bad thing either.

Actually, it could have perfectly been her imagination.

 _But it wasn't._

At first, their sempai had been smiling at Murasakibara only, who hummed at the praise like a little kid basking in what had to be a frequent affair, but the second Himuro literally looked down at her with the exact same smile was when Aoi saw it and blinked herself out of the dumbstruck state. His grey eyes twinkled, the corners stretching into an even more pleased look, and it occurred to the girl that he was actually regarding her with some sort of carefully managed emotion- There, in the twitch of his lip, she could see it. It wasn't that he stopped looking happy, it wasn't that he looked at her in a bad way, but the sudden appearance of what most probably was amusement mixed with a touch of _'How I love to be right_ ' caught her off guard.

 _Then she realized why it looked familiar._

 ** _It was like looking at an accomplished Haruka._**

But as much as Aoi loved her dear friend, as much as she regarded her… particular personality as something good, and as much as she liked to see the blonde haired happy, Aoi had to admit it all came hand in hand with plotting, scheming, and no little amount of manipulation.

"Truly" He mused, voice almost dripping honey when he reached for her form and she suddenly found her hand empty "A _very_ good choice"

* * *

 ** _That was the moment Kinoshita Haruka would for the rest of her life recognize as Himuro Tatsuya's master piece._**

 ** _And she never did stop applauding it._**

* * *

Aoi knew something was wrong the moment she pushed open the kitchen's door.

"Just who I wanted to see"

"Mako, please don't d-"

At first, she just blinked at the tray, the muffins on it blinking right back at her. Then, the girl looked up, and years later she would deem that as the most courageous thing she did in the early years of her life- The first second and a half she didn't know who spoke first or who this 'Mako' was or why her dad was trying to stop them from….something. Mikitana Kei was, surprisingly enough, standing on the other side of the counter instead of besides the cashier, an almost pleading expression on his face. Which wasn't usually seen, which at the same time made it all more strange.

But then her eyes landed on the woman besides him. And then, inevitably, on the person besides the woman. There was a strong sense of déjà vu as Aoi's eyes went up and up and _up_ , the corner of her lips morphing from the same slight smile to something between a gasp that didn't quite got out and a grimace, a face that unfortunately didn't quite change even when her eyes reached a very prominent jawbone and even more square head, brown hair to equally brown eyes, because she could count with one hand how many giants she had seen in her life. And there would be fingers to spare.

"Mikitana Aoi, am I right?" The girl almost teared her eyes away from the – _Titan, wall, wrestling champion?_ \- **individual** when the woman quite knowingly stepped on her field of vision. Long black hair framed smooth looking skin and really nice blue eyes, someone who looked around the same age as her dad, but the maybe enviable features weren't enough to overshadow the fact that the woman did look awfully decided on something, as if heading straight for her goal. Aoi blinked again, fingers curling around the tray she was still holding, not trying that hard to avoid looking like a scared mouse when attention was being paid to it "My name is Araki Masako. You might not know me, but I am a coach in Yosen"….. _Coach. Alright. Okay. Where have I heard this before?_ The woman- Araki, nodded towards the giant standing now behind her "This is Okamura Kenichi, Captain of the basketball club"

….Captain.

Basketball club.

Captain.

He was a student.

 ** _He was a student?_**

In case you were wondering, Aoi _did_ double check, not feeling as embarrassed as she probably should have when she realized that, indeed, this Okamura Kenichi was wearing her school's uniform. Again, he noticed her gaze, and he was normal enough to probably feel a little bit uncomfortable about how she was looking at him- But he was polite enough to not say anything about it, and just bow his head slightly in greeting. That was what had pushed Aoi's head down into a bow as well, remembering that she in fact had manners that didn't involve staring or gapping at people.

 _It was good her dad was too busy sighing in defeat to pay her any attention._

"Good evening, Araki-sensei, Okamura-sempai"

The woman's lips twitched with could almost be called amusement.

"I am not exactly a teacher"

"Which might have something to do with the fact that you carry a Shinai with you, Mako" By the time he finished saying that, Aoi's dad had already walked over to his place at the other side of the counter once more, but it didn't take to be a genius to realize it wasn't only to help his daughter with the tray she was still holding. The maroon eyed girl couldn't quite point out what exactly was that stunned her into silence at that moment- The glare Coach Araki was sending to Kei's back, or the fact that the woman was in fact carrying something covered in fabric in her hand, something with the shape of a sword. _Aoi could only blink again_ , and she did so about three times in a row, even when her dad started talking again "She's an old friend, Aoi. Mako was the one who recommended us to the very first sport magazine we started working with"

Aoi could only blink.

 _…_ _..Just what kind of connections does that woman have?_

Araki Masako didn't exactly give her more time to wonder about it, speaking up again with upmost seriousness "I didn't know you too were enrolled in Yosen until recently. I can imagine _why_ that little fact wasn't brought to my attention before-"

"At least allow me to be a responsible father and protect my daughter from possible disturbances to her innocent mind"

"-But that doesn't matter anymore. What's important is that I know of you now"

The first year student glanced in between her dad and the woman who had interrupted him without even blinking, then at the basketball player and then at the shinai, not entirely sure if to laugh or to run for her life. She also didn't know if her upperclasmate was there to interfere if her life proved to be threatened, or to hold her in place to make sure she couldn't escape. And by the looks of it, her father wasn't exactly sure either- So she was left to tentatively look at the Coach's face once more, careful not to trigger the wrath she was apparently capable of unleashing.

 _Ryo, rejoice- Your future self is apparently allowed to carry a weapon around_

To her credit, Aoi's voice inly shook at the beginning.

"I-Is there something I can help you with?"

Apparently pleased with the course of action the girl choose to take – _Was it just Aoi, or had the Coach actually lessened her hold on the sword?_ \- the woman nodded "I have something to ask of you" The corners of her lips curled up ever so slightly into what could only be called a smirk, head tilted to one side by maybe an inch. At her side, Aoi's dad sighed once more, the small smile returning to his lips after a second "A task, if you may"

A task.

 _If Haruka were there, she would have surely asked if it had anything to do with burying a body._

But because Aoi wasn't Haruka, the girl just blinked, mouthing the words just in case she had gotten anything wrong. But before she could even ask, Araki already had a hand on her hip, and had already taken a step closer. Aoi briefly considered taking one back before the woman started to speak once more.

"Yosen is a role model Mission-kei School in the prefecture. You have to accumulate certain amount of points to graduate for when you are in third year, am I right? A very high, very _demanding_ amount of points, comparing to other schools in the whole country. But instead of doing volunteering, by the time you are a senior you will need the time to work on your apprenticeship. Where have you thought on going? Kyoto? Tokyo? Overseas?"

There was something on that smirk that told Aoi just how often that woman found very particular ways of achieving her goals, and how often she succeed on doing so. And the girl really didn't know if she was part of plan at all or if she really was meant to bury a body for the black haired woman, but saying that she felt blackmailed would be a bit of an overstatement, even when it was starting to be obvious the path things were taking. Actually, as the girl glanced at Okamura's stiffened face and gloom expression, she was pretty sure whatever she was going to be asked to do wasn't half as bad as what the basketball team was _gently_ pushed into doing in a _day._

Kei blinked "How did you kno-"

The Coach scoffed " _As if_ you didn't do the same half a life ago"

Somehow, Aoi was too afraid to even wonder how old she was then, if she had known her dad for so long, even if in the privacy of her own mind.

"…I… am aware of that, yes"

Araki glanced at her again, an impassive expression in her face. Then, a confident smirk appeared.

"Would you like to earn those points much more quickly and early on?"

 _'_ _Go on and try to say no'_

Aoi was no athlete.

But she didn't need the experience to know an order when she heard one.

* * *

 **Mikitana Kei had never prayed so badly for his child's safety as he did at that moment.**


End file.
